Deaths Reported in Users of Diabetes Drug Byetta

According to Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lily, six patients who were prescribed the type 2 diabetes drug Byetta reportedly have died from pancreatitis. The Food and Drug Administration reported the Byetta patient deaths and will now strengthen its warnings about serious pancreatitis problems linked to the drug.

Byetta was approved by the FDA in 2005 for the treatment of type 2 or adult onset diabetes in patients whose diabetes was not well-controlled on other oral medication. The medication is injected subcutaneously twice per day using a pre-filled pen device and began being widely used after its approval, in part because it promoted weight loss, in contrast to insulin and many other diabetes medications. Byetta can improve blood sugar control and can be and has been combined with other diabetes drugs.

In response to increased incidences of acute pancreatitis in Byetta patients, the FDA first issued a warning label on the drug’s potential link to the condition in 2007. Acute pancreatitis is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas, which produce insulin, and can result in bleeding pancreas (hemorrhagic pancreatitis) or pancreatic tissue death where the pancreas essentially destroys itself (necrotizing pancreatitis). Despite six deaths from the condition and increased warnings from the FDA, the makers and marketers of Byetta still believe the drug’s benefits outweigh the risks.